I have been tracking the minutes until my arrival in Queenstown, New Zealand since the count has been well over 100,000 and the amount of nerves that reside in me are countless. The information we have received so far has left my head reeling and launching it into spirals of imagination, wondering who the rest of my flatmates will be, getting to know the University of Otago campus and just what my daily life will be during this semester abroad.
I have thought long and hard about the connections I will make throughout these next few months. The bitter-sweet part of all this is that I am embarking on this journey knowing absolutely no one personally from school. Although this can be a terrifying thought, I look forward to this extra factor that will push me to form connections with others of all backgrounds and home locations. I anticipate that being surrounded by students of the university, especially my kiwi host, will be used to American international students studying at their school for a semester due to the appeal of New Zealand and the popularity of the University of Otago, but I know very little of normal kiwi life and customs as I’ve only met one person from New Zealand before. I think my identity will simultaneously be unique, yet known to the kiwis, but their identity will be brand new to me. With this to be my belief, I can only hope that my identity holds some weight that I may impart some affect to someone that I encounter as I am sure many kiwis will impart to me.
I am extremely lucky enough to be departing for Sydney, Australia tomorrow and spending the week leading up to my arrival in New Zealand in the land down under. I feel this has enabled me to get all the jitters of packing and preparations over with and have such time before the actual arrival that I may relax and simply revel in the excitement of my upcoming journey. The down side is that I have a 17 hour plane ride to sit and ponder if I truly have remembered everything I need to begin this four month journey.
As I sign off… Let the adventures begin!